The Beijing Intellectual Property Court issued its highest damages award ever ($7.5 million) in a case involving Hengbao Co. Ltd. infringing a patent for a USB key owned by Beijing Watchdata Data Systems Co. Ltd. The court calculated lost profits by multiplying the total sales quantity of the infringing products by the profit per unit. Two significant takeaways: (1) the court made it easier for the plaintiff to get crucial evidence from the defendant (there is no discovery procedure in China); and (2) the court award included attorneys’ fees. While the award was the highest ever from this specialized court, it was the third highest such award in all of China. A good discussion of the case is here.
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